


From the Inside Out

by angstytimelord



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: M/M, No Sex, Will is hooked on Hannibal, naked Will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-27
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-21 11:31:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/899785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstytimelord/pseuds/angstytimelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one has ever known Will in quite the way Hannibal does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From the Inside Out

No one else knew him the way that Hannibal did.

To be fair, he'd never given anyone else the chance to know him, Will told himself as he stepped out of the shower. He was always careful not to let people get too close, not to let anyone have a window to see inside his mind.

He didn't want to be close to anyone. He didn't want anyone to know him. He knew all too well what that led to -- ridicule, rejection, and a hell of a lot of pain. He'd been there before, and it wasn't a feeling that he ever wanted to meet face to face again.

Strangely enough, the ridicule that he'd borne in the past hadn't come from anyone he'd been personally involved with. It had come from his work colleagues.

The people he worked with now weren't like that. They accepted him -- but he couldn't help feeling he was still an outsider in so many ways. They looked as being more than a little strange -- and frightening -- because of his empathic abilities.

That was always going to set him apart from everyone else.

Will sighed, reaching for a towel to dry himself off with, then catching sight of himself in the bathroom mirror. He slowly straightened to his full height, taking stock of his body, looking at himself with an overly critical eye.

What was it that Hannibal saw in him? He didn't see anything particularly special; his body wasn't any better or worse than any other man's who was in decent shape, really. There was nothing about him that he felt made him stand out in any way.

The only thing that made him special was his empathy, and thankfully, that wasn't something that showed through on the outside.

But it was apparently one of the things that attracted Hannibal to him, so in a way, he was thankful for it. Without that special ability, he probably wouldn't have Hannibal in his life at all, as a friend or as a lover. And Hannibal certainly wouldn't know him so well.

Hannibal knew him from the inside out. 

There was something about this body that Hannibal found alluring, something that kept him coming back time after time for more of him. Will didn't think it was just his empathy that kept hte other man enthralled; there had to be some physical counterpart.

What was it about him that Hannibal apparently found so fascinating? Will narrowed his eyes, studying himself, but he couldn't see anything special.

He had a decent body -- fairly broad shoulders, muscular biceps, a slim waist, curving hips, slender thighs, long legs. He wasn't a bad-looking man. Of course he wasn't; Hannibal would only want someone who he thought of as being attractive.

But still, there didn't seem to be anything outstandingly handsome about him, either. Of course, he wasn't the best person to judge that.

He'd never really cared about what he looked like; actually, he usually tried to hide his good looks behind the facial hair he always sported, and the thick-lensed glasses that he didn't really need. He didn't want to be seen as attractive, didn't want to draw attention to himself.

But he couldn't hide himself away from those who looked closely enough.

So far, Hannibal was the only person who had ever done that. There had been others who had looked, but only briefly. They had lost interest when they'd found out that Will didn't fall easily into anyone's bed -- and that he wasn't experienced.

Hannibal had been his first and his only lover. Maybe he was crazy to feel that he didn't ever want to be with anyone else, to limit his experiences, but that was the truth. Hannibal satisfied him in every way; he didn't need more than what he had.

It felt as though asking for more would be greedy, especially when he was with someone who understood everything about him, someone who had already stripped him to the bone.

Hannibal had started by stripping him from the inside out; he had gotten into Will's mind far too easily, but then, it was his job to be able to do so. He was a psychiatrist; he knew all the ways to insinuate himself into someone's psyche.

With Hannibal, that hadn't felt like an intrusion.

It had been easy to let Hannibal get int his mind; he hadn't even realized that he was letting all of those protective barriers that he'd so carefully built around himself crumble to the ground. It had seemed natural, letting Hannibal inside those walls.

He had gravitated toward Hannibal like the proverbial moth to a flame -- and Hannibal had been very careful not to singe his wings. It was as though Hannibal knew that he Will was being drawn into a fire that might burn him if he didn't watch his step.

His lover had been careful with him from the very first; the first night they'd spent together, Hannibal had been almost tender, almost loving.

That thought brought a wry smile to Will's face; if there was any word that he would never use to describe the man who was his lover, "loving" was it. But that first night, when he'd surrendered his virginity to Hannibal, it had been taken with care and patience.

It was as though Hannibal had known that to be too hasty, to try to know Will's body as intimately as he already knew his mind, would only place a chasm between them. So Hannibal had taken care to bridge that gulf slowly, until it no longer existed.

However, that intimate knowledge was very one-sided.

Will knew almost nothing about Hannibal, in spite of the fact that they had been lovers for a few weeks now. There were sides of himself that Hannibal revealed freely -- and others that he kept shrouded in mystery, refusing to give Will the key to open those doors.

There were times when it was terribly frustrating not to know much about his lover's past, and others when Will felt that it was probably better for him not to know.

There was no telling what could be hidden in Hannibal's past. He'd already decided that he didn't need to know what was there; if Hannibal wanted him to know, then he would bring up the subject. If not, then he wasn't going to pry.

Hannibal might know him from the inside out, but he didn't need to know the other man that way. There was such a thing as personal space, and even though it almost seemed as though Hannibal invaded his space when he pushed against those barriers, Will wouldn't do the same.

He was sure that if he did, Hannibal would move in the opposite direction.

That was the last thing he wanted, he thought with a soft sigh. He couldn't lose Hannibal. That would send him scuttling back into his self-imposed isolation, and he didn't want that.

Hannibal had told him more than once that it was past time he let himself trust someone -- and he was right. It wasn't easy to open himself up and let Hannibal in at times, but he was doing it, one small step at a time. And it was getting easier as time went along.

Taking a deep breath, Will reached for the towel again, this time wrapping it around his waist. If he didn't hurry, he was going to be late for his evening session with Hannibal -- a session that he hoped was going to turn into yet another night of exploration and discovery.


	2. Intimate Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal isn't sure just what his feelings for Will are -- or what he wants Will to feel for him.

Hannibal smiled as he glanced the clock, leaning back in his desk chair and letting himself relax. In less than an hour, Will should be here, seated in front of him and waiting for their session to begin. It would be another night of the games that Hannibal enjoyed.

He hadn't planned to take Will to bed tonight, but he was starting to feel that it would be a satisfactory ending to the evening. Just thinking of Will could ignite a fire in his belly, one that quickly spread over his body and swamped him with desire.

He had never wanted anyone in the way that he wanted Will Graham. That was both a blessing and a curse, both pleasurable and dangerous.

Wanting Will this badly could get him into trouble. It could make him let down his guard; it could cause him to make mistakes where he couldn't afford to let anything slip. But he was willing to take that risk. Having Will was worth facing a bit of danger.

Having Will was worth anything he might have to risk.

When he had first met the young man, he had been intrigued by Will's mannerisms; it had been completely obvious to him that Will was trying to hide himself away, that he didn't want anyone to notice him, much less get to know him.

But he had slipped behind those protective barriers that Will kept wrapped so tightly around himself. He had gotten into the young man's mind, and he intended to stay there. He was a part of Will now, a part of his psyche. He was figuratively inside Will.

Of course, he was inside the young man literally as well, at times. That thought made him smile; Hannibal closed his eyes, reliving the memory of the last time he and Will had been intimate. It had been glorious, more pleasurable than he could have ever dreamed.

Will Graham was perfect for him. The perfect lover, the perfect pawn. They had been meant to find each other, to come together physically and mentally.

Will was meant to be his. It wouldn't have been so easy for him to slip behind Will's barriers if they weren't meant for each other, meant to be together. Will might not realize that fact yet, but someday he would -- even if he had to be _made_ to see it.

Hannibal knew just how to accomplish that.

He wouldn't let Will run away from the fact that they were destined for each other. Will might be afraid of that destiny; he might want to turn away from it, to pretend that it didn't exist. He didn't want anyone to know him, to be as close to him as Hannibal was.

But Will didn't have much of a choice in this, did he? Hannibal smiled again, a predatory expression on his features. No, this wasn't Will's decision to make. Will had no choice in this matter, no will of his own when it came to what Hannibal planned for him.

And in the end, Will _would_ want this. Hannibal would make sure of that. He would want to be known, inside and out.

He was still working his way towards that point, but he would discover, sooner or later, that having someone know him intimately, inside and out, wasn't entirely a bad thing. And that was when Hannibal would have achieved the goal he had set for himself.

The goal of knowing Will Graham in every possible way, of getting inside his heart and soul. He wanted to know Will in a way that was soul deep, a way that bonded the two of them as nothing else could, a way that would make Will his forever.

He wouldn't rest until he had done just that.

Will _had_ to be his. He had known that ever since he'd first laid eyes on the young man; his desire for Will had flared hot and high even at that first meeting. He had known then, from that precise moment when they had first looked into each other's eyes, just what he wanted.

He didn't merely want Will Graham in his bed. He wanted Will bonded to him, as a part of his life, a part of him that couldn't be excised.

That was a dangerous desire, and he'd acknowledged it as such from the very first. But no one had ever affected him in the way that Will did. No one had ever made his body burn in this particular way; no one had ever captured his imagination so thoroughly.

Had Will captured his heart as well? That was an interesting question, though he didn't really think so. He couldn't honestly say that he was in love with Will, though he was fond of the young man. Still, it was a question to ponder.

Was he capable of loving Will? He had never really put that question to himself. He would like to think that he was, but he wasn't sure. Hannibal didn't think that he had the capacity to love -- only to manipulate. But with Will, perhaps it was a different story.

Perhaps knowing Will _was_ to love him.

At least knowing Will in the way that he did, he amended. Will wasn't easy to know; having the deeply intimate knowledge of his psyche that Hannibal did was something special. Perhaps simply knowing Will in that kind of capacity was a form of love.

Knowing Will from the inside out had come easily to him -- but thee was still one area he hadn't managed to conquer. He didn't know what was in Will's heart, and there were times when he doubted that he ever would -- or that he even wanted to.

If he knew what was hidden in the confines of those chambers, he might discover that Will didn't think as highly of him as Hannibal wanted him to -- and that would never do.

In some ways, he didn't want to know what Will's deepest thoughts of him were. It was enough for him to know that Will was mesmerized by him, that Will wanted to be with him. He didn't need to know whether or not Will fancied himself in love with him.

Or did he? Hannibal's brow creased at the thought. Did he want to take that step? Did he want to go even more deeply into Will Graham's psyche, to find out exactly what this young man's feelings for him were? Did he want to take on that responsibility?

Being loved could be a burden. One that he didn't want.

He didn't want Will to love him -- and he definitely didn't want Will to know him with that same intimate knowledge. If Will knew his secrets, then his life would be forfeit. Maybe not in the near future, but at some point that Hannibal couldn't see yet.

He didn't want that. He didn't want to lose Will, not when he had so recently found him. He wanted this to last for as long as it possibly could, until he knew that there was nothing left for them and that it was time for Will to exit the stage.

That would be unfortunate, but Hannibal didn't doubt that it had to happen at some point. His soul deep knowledge of Will told him that the young man would never be able to accept him, as either a friend or a lover, once his secrets were known.

But that would be a long time in coming, Hannibal told himself, another smile curving his lips. For now, he was free to enjoy Will, in so many different ways.

And tonight, he would come to know the young man even more intimately.


End file.
